Hoshikage: The Buried Truth

Akahoshi declares the Leaf shinobi's assignment finished, but Neji counters that the star is still missing, so their work is not done. He, Lee, and Tenten lay out the truth about Akahoshi to the young trainees. Waking nearby, Naruto listens as the history comes out: Natsuhi and her husband, sickened by what the star training did to people, once tried to take the relic away.

After the pair were caught, the Third Hoshikage struck a bargain, promising to halt the training if they left and kept watch from a distance to make sure it never restarted. They agreed, and asked the Hoshikage to tell Sumaru only that they had died.

Akahoshi runs down the star and admits the ugly core of his scheme: he murdered the Hoshikage so the training could begin again. He turns on Natsuhi and drains the chakra of his own underlings to swell his strength.

The confrontation tips just as Naruto's teammates and the star trainees reach the scene, setting up the clash to come.

The episode falls within the anime-original Star Guard mission. Its reveal reframes Sumaru's belief about his parents, since he had been raised thinking them long dead rather than living in hiding.